For my dear friend.
The orange mare ran outside of her old farmhouse, yelling out to the orchard for anyone to hear, “Winona! Winona, where are ya girl?” The farmgirl continue to call out as an old earth pony mare walkked up behind her.
“LAND’S Sake Applejack, what is with all of the yelling? Are you trying to put the roosters out of work,” Granny Smith asked.
Applejack turned around to look a her grandmother, her green eyes lowering a bit, “Ah’m sorry Granny Smith, but Ah haven’t seen Winona all mornin and Ah am getting worried that she might have gotten lost, or ran away from home.”
The old mare placed a comforting hoof onto Applejacck’s shoulder and gave her a soft hug, “It’ll be all right Applejack, she’s probably just doing a small little run about the orchard and will be back. You’ll see.”
“That’s just it, Granny. She hasn’t been running all that much lately, she’s just been walking kind of slow and poorly all month. She won’t even eat some of the food Ah give her anymore,” Applejack said, some small tears coming to her eyes.
Granny Smith let out a small sigh as she looked at Applejack with some sorrow in her eyes, “Well Applejack, Winona is getting along in years remember,? Dogs do age faster than ponies, so maybe it’s just getting to the point that she is finding a place to-”
Applejack’s opened wide in fear as she looked at Granny Smith in fear, “Don’t say that, Granny! Winona can’t possibly be ready to, to” she sniffled a little as she found herself.
Granny Smith slowly rubbed a green hoof along Applejack’s back, comfortingly, “It happens to everypony eventually. Soon they just get too old to be doing the things they love, and then...they die. It’ll happen to me too one day.”
“Don’t be like that Granny,” Applejack said as she pulled Granny into a tight embrace, “ You’re gonna live forever, trust me.” Applejack then pulled back and smiled, “ And I know that Winona aint gonna die just yet. It aint her time to go.” With that, she pulled away from her grandmother to begin searching for her pet in the orchard.
A few hours had past by quickly for the young mare and despite traversing half the farm in that time, she was no where near close to finding her beloved companion, “Winona! Come on now, come to Applejack!” She once again bellowed the call that she had been yelling for the past few hours. She let out a few sobs as she prayed silently for her companion’s safety. The companion that had been always at her side, a faithful friend that was as precious to her as the hat on her head. She chuckled to herself as she looked up at a tree that sat on a hill, and she remembered the day she met both companions.
Applejack let out a long tired sigh as she rested again the side of a big tree on the hill overlooking the farm. It had been only a few months since she had gotten her mark, and a few weeks since her father had passed away. She laid back up against the tree and began to think about her life on the farm and if she had been doing enough. Had she been taking care of everything around the farm as well as her father had, and is she doing her best to keep her mom safe. Closing her eyes, she became content at the thought of her pregnant mom and the new baby that would be there in only a few more weeks. Sliding her legs behind her head, she let out a yawn as she began to feel sleep take her; however, she was stopped from napping when she heard the rustling of grass.
Opening up her eyes, she looked as a stetson began to climb up over the hill, “Paw?” Applejack asked as she watched the stetson continue to walk to her. Slowly she shook her head of the thought, she knew that her father was dead after all. Curiously, she kept an eye on the incoming stetson as it neared her before tipping over at her feet. Moving closely to the hat, she pulled back quickly as she watched a pair of white paws pop out of the hat.
The small little brown thing let out a small bark as it popped its head out of the hat, showing off the rest of its small brown body. Looking up at the orange mare before her, the small little dog let out a few more little yips before running to Applejack and leaping at her, “Now where is that hat?” Asked a big red stallion before hearing the small barks coming from the dog, “Ah, there she is. Along with my little sister who is enjoying her little present.”
“Big Mac, she’s adorable,” Applejack said as she held the puppy in her forelegs, “Is she really mine?”
“Eeyup,” Big Mac said as he picked up the brown stetson with his right hoof and placed it on her head, “Along with this...it was paw’s. Ah figured you might have wanted to keep it since you have always wanted it. The puppy is to keep you company when Ah am busy workin.”
Applejack held the stetson close to her, looking down upon the cherished item with a bit of tenderness, “Where did you get the pup?”
“Found her alongside the road next to her dead mother. Apparently some animal got to her and killed her. She was the only one left,” Big Mac said as he watched the puppy run in circles around Applejack.
“Well, Winona, looks like we both have lost somethang important to us huh?” Applejack asked the small puppy as she walked away from the tree, “Tell ya what? Lets promise each other this, Ah’ll be there for you as much as possible and you’ll help to protect and watch mah family, deal?” she smiled as the puppy let out a yip in response, “That a girl, now yer first task is to_”
“THE BABY’S COMIN, THE BABY’S COMIN!!” Yelled Granny Smith from inside the farmhouse.
“Help with my baby sister!” Applejack said as she ran to the farmhouse as fast as she could.
Applejack put the hat close to her chest as the memory faded from her mind, “Oh please Winona, be all right. Ah...Ah am not ready for you to go just yet, Ah want you at least see mah kids. You, you did so much for me, helped to watch mah family and have been one of my oldest friends. P...please, don’t die.” Applejack said as she walked next to the big red barn, where she began to hear some whimpering from inside. Eyes opened wide in fear and worry, she ran inside the barn where she saw a small brown body on her side wimpering, “APPLEBLOOM! Go get Fluttershy, hurry!!!!” She knew that her friend was not a vet, but she was better than one and she needed a great caretaker at the moment.
Rushing quickly over to the small body, she put a hoof to the back of the body and began to rub it gently, “It’s going to be all right, Winona. It’s going to be ok, Ah got Fluttershy on the way so don’t you go and...” Applejack stopped herself as she looked over the side of the small dog. leaning her head over the side, a smile came to her face, “Why you little bitch. You broke our promise. We agreed to be there for each other as much as we could. That includes when you,” she continued to look at the little brown creature that was at the side of Winona, its eyes unopened as it nursed at its mother side and its light brown fur still glistening from being born, “when you became a mother”
On that day, Winona Apple gave birth to six very lively pups with the help of her master and her masters friend, Fluttershy. With a little help and a lot of care through the next few weeks, the young pups grew into six small young border collies, “Come on, Winona!” Applejack yelled as she ran through a field, “Lets get these kids of yours moving. We want them to be very big and strong so they can work hard.”
“Come on, Ashley. That goes for you too,” Applebloom said as she carried a small brown pup on her head.
“Applebloom, she aint going to grow strong if you keep carrying her like that,” Applejack said as she stood on the hill with her companion at her side.
“Well, Ah know, but she was the runt of the litter,” Appleblom said walking while the young pup lept from her head, “So Ah figured that she’ll get a chance to rest up before getting bigger and then we can work together on the farm like you and her mom.”
Applejack chuckled as she rubbed Winona’s back, “She’ll take good care of her Winona, just like Ah’ll always take good care of you. Ah promise.”
She knew that death comes for pets and loved ones one day, but in the presence of new life, that can be forgotten. She knew that she would always watch over her faithful pet, why, because she promised her and she always keeps her promise.
Author's Note
THIS! Is what happeneds when you read one too many "Winona dies at the end" fanfics and you have an idea while you are taking a bath.
On another noe..PUPPIES!!!
The name of Winona's pups: Ashley, John, Alan, Reba, Dolly, Tim
